Calderon: "If I leave it's going to be very hard."

Man, as frustrating has Jose's play has been over these last couple seasons, he makes it so hard to ship him out elsewhere. Emotionally, these are the types of players Toronto need to surround themselves with. You gotta love players that want to be here in Toronto.

But as he cares for his son, the point comes across loud and clear from Jose Calderon:Toronto is like a second home and regardless of what happens with the rest of the Raptors, he canít wait to get back.

ďIíve been there five years, I love that team and want to get back to the playoffs and win games, thatís all that matters,Ē Calderon said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

ďI feel good about the team and the city and winning games. Thatís all I care about. I have a house in Toronto, friends there; if I leave itís going to be very hard.Ē

Man, as frustrating has Jose's play has been over these last couple seasons, he makes it so hard to ship him out elsewhere. Emotionally, these are the types of players Toronto need to surround themselves with. You gotta love players that want to be here in Toronto.

That's the same trap the Leafs fell into. They held onto a core of players who loved the franchise and the city but simply weren't good enough to compete with the best in the NHL.

I like JC, but I don't cheer for him. I cheer for the Raptors, and the Raptors need a better PG if they want to be in the mix in the post-season. I don't consider that a rejection of Calderon's loyalty. I consider it a recognition of what's best for the Toronto Raptors.

I wouldn't mind keeping him as a back-up (of course he would be overpaid). He can make plays and can shoot the ball well. I just don't think he has the conditioning, strength, and defense it takes to be a starter in the league.

I think moving Jose is a terrible decision for the future of this franchise. He may be overpaid but he only has three seasons left on his contract. Now that may sound like a lot, but if we are going into rebuild mode it's not like we really need to worry about signing big free agents for a couple of years and by not moving Jose, we will have a lot of cap room in 2013, which just so happens to be the year guys like Dwight Howard, Gerald Wallace, Josh Smith, Jameer Nelson, and Derron Williams are scheduled to become free agents. That is also the year we will have to give Demar a new contract if he develops well. I don't want to repeat the whole JO debacle where we trade a guy for a quick fix without looking at the ramifications a year or two down the road. Jose is a serviceable player and as long as we are just trying to build, I think he is a great piece for us to hang onto. It's not like we'd get anything decent for him in a trade anyway.

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."